Today, if someone took a poll of your customers, constituents, followers—whatever, and asked if you matter to them, how do you think you would come out? If you ceased to exist tomorrow, do you think anyone would really care? In other words, has your product, service, or brand established an emotional connection with your customers to the extent that they are invested in your enduring success?

This is the deep soul-searching question we want you to ask yourself. Really, honestly, answer this. Are you a positive force in their lives? If you disappeared, would their lives be diminished in some way?

Do you, in fact, matter?

Great design establishes the strong, positive relationship between your company and your customers that you need. Think like a customer for a moment. We’re talking about design as a total concept—not just about how a product looks, but how the product operates, how it sounds, and how it feels. Also included in this idea of design is the quality of your purchase experience, of what happens when you actually open up the box, how you start to feel, and what all this communicates to you. And of course, there is the chain of events through which you became aware of the product. This is part of the design connection too—what all those touch points mean to you as a customer.

The stark reality is that very few companies actually understand how to create great design, and even fewer know how to use design as a complete strategy starting with the ideal customer experience, and then building an internal supply chain to deliver in a way that exceeds expectations. When you do this, you will create products, services, and experiences that truly matter to your customers’ lives and thereby drive powerful, sustainable improvements in business performance.

Delivering great design takes awareness, creativity, diligence and determination. The secret to doing it: build a truly design-driven business from top to bottom, in which design is central to everything you do.

Do You Matter? shows how to do precisely this. Renowned industrial designer Robert Brunner (Former Apple Industrial Design Director) and corporate consultant Stewart Emery (Success Built to Last) begin by making an incontrovertible case for the power of design in making emotional connections, deepening relationships, and strengthening brands. You’ll learn what it really means to be “design-driven” and how that translates into action at companies like Nike, Apple, BMW, IKEA and many others. You’ll learn techniques for managing your entire experience supply chain; how to define effective design strategies; and learn how to manage design from the top, encouraging “risky” design innovations that lead to creating entirely new markets.

The authors show how (and how not) to use research; how to extend design values into marketing, manufacturing, and beyond; and how to keep building on your progress, truly "baking" design into all your processes and culture.

Read this book and put the principles to work. Do this and you will be able to not only play the game, you’ll be able change the game, your company, your life and make a difference in the lives of others—really!

Even if you are not in the business of creating products and services per se, this is a book everyone can enjoy (even your mother). It is a great read filled with stories of triumph, serendipity and missed opportunities. In addition to expanding the way you think about the role of design in your life, it will help you to be a delighted consumer.